


I'm Looking Through You

by smittenwithsugden



Series: Robert Week 2017 [5]
Category: Emmerdale
Genre: M/M, Robert Week 2017, Trashmouth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-08
Updated: 2017-09-08
Packaged: 2018-12-23 08:00:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11985603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smittenwithsugden/pseuds/smittenwithsugden
Summary: Robert Week 2017 - Day 5 - Write an interaction between Robert and a village member (preferably not romantic) which shows him, as the trash king he is





	I'm Looking Through You

**Author's Note:**

> Every title for all of my fics for Robert Week are song titles from the album "Rubber Soul" by The Beatles.
> 
> Huge thanks to Laura and Carla for organising this week and to Zo'e and the rest of the bubble for being my cheerleaders.

Robert was minding his own business, he really was. He was sitting at the corner table, nipping at his pint and reading a Wikipedia article on how shampoo was made. He had just wanted to look up to see if his own shampoo was eco-friendly and then one thing lead to another.

He wasn't paying any attention to the people around him, not to Cain and Harriett at the next table and not to Vanessa at the bar talking to Marlon. He didn't notice Faith and Eric behaving like some giggly teenagers at the table next to the door.

And people typically didn't approach him. So he was more than a little surprised when he heard a voice addressing him.

“What are you doing here?”

“Having a pint,” Robert said with a raised eyebrow and looked up to see Paddy.

“You’re not wanted here,” Paddy said.

“Says who?” Robert asked, looking over to the bar. “Oi, Charity, am I barred?”

“Not yet,” she called back with a shrug.

“There you go,” Robert said to Paddy. “Why are you so bothered anyway? I am just sitting here, reading, I haven’t said a word until you approached me.”

“Because you… you bother me,” Paddy said.

“Wow, okay, that’s eloquent,” Robert said.

"You broke his heart," Paddy shot back. "I always knew you weren't good enough for him. I always knew you were a lying, cheating excuse for a man."

Robert sighed and clenched his jaw.

“I think we already established that,” he said, trying hard to keep it together. “Bye, bye now.”

“Why are you like this?” Paddy asked. “I actually thought you cared about him, I actually thought…”

"I do," Robert hissed, finally putting his phone down, knowing this would go to the next round. "I care about him; I love him."

"No," Paddy said immediately. "No, you don't, or you would never have done this."

“What?” Robert hissed. “Cheated on him while I was drunk and heartbroken? Yeah, you’re right, that was dumb and stupid. But I guess, by that logic, you never loved Rhona, right?”

His voice has risen a bit, and Vanessa had turned around.

"What? No, that's not… The two situations are completely different. I never… I mean, I didn't mean to… I love Rhona; I was in another headspace. You and me, we are…," Paddy stammered.

"What? Not the same? Why?" Robert asked. "You had a full blown affair with your kid's teacher, Paddy. With somebody, you didn't even really care about. And you come here and tell me I am somehow beneath you? You come here and look down on me?"

Paddy stammered. “He needed you,” he said weakly. “He was relying on you to be strong for him.”

"He needed you, too" Robert shot back, standing up and being on e the full defensive now. "And where were you? Have you even spoken to him in the last few months since he's been out? Have you been at the Mill? Do you know what it looks like? How he is living now? Do you know how he is doing right now? Do you know why exactly he broke up with me? Do you know if he feels good about it?"

Robert stared at Paddy, waiting.

Nobody in the bar said anything, nobody intervened, and nobody came to Paddy’s aid, which was at least something.

“He knows I’m there for him,” Paddy said weakly.

"This again?" Robert said, shaking his head. "Why don't you go and actually be a decent father for once? Instead of slagging me off, go and be there for him. And when you got the whole picture, when you actually know what his sofa looks like, when you know how he is dealing, when you come down from your high horse about cheating, then you can come and talk to me again how I am not good enough!"

“He expected more from you,” Paddy said. “We all expected more from you, for him.”

“That’s the problem, isn’t it?” Robert said. “Because he is the only one who is allowed that. YOU are not. Because there were only two people in this relationship, and funnily enough, Paddy, you are not one of them. And besides, out of this crazy village, Aaron is probably the only one left who never cheated. You don't get to judge anybody because of cheating."

“Don’t twist this around on me,” Paddy said.

"Listen, if I were to get in your face about how you're a cheating, lying scumbag you would twist it around on me, too, wouldn't you?" Robert asked.

“Because you are the worst,” Paddy said.

“Am I? Really?” Robert asked. “I get it. It’s so easy, isn’t it? Pointing the finger at me. ‘Oh look at that Sugden, Mr Shifty, of course, he messed up, once a cheater, always a cheater.' Well, that applies to all of the people in here as far as I'm concerned." 

“This is not about all of us, it’s about you,” Paddy tried again. “I’m just looking out for Aaron.”

“No, you’re not,” Robert said shaking his head. “Aaron is nowhere to be seen, is he? You are just having a go at me for no apparent reason. Do you know where he is? Do you know what he’s up to?”

“I’m…, well, he is… at work,” Paddy stammered.

Robert checked his watch. "No, he's not, he is on his way back from driving Liv to her art project at school. You know how I know that? Because I care! Unlike some who just like to point the finger. So please, do me a favour, blame me all you want, hate me all you want, I don't care, but don't put it on me if you can't give a rats ass to actually put in the time to connect with Aaron again." 

“I was giving him space,” Paddy said. “I know his family is looking out for him.”

Paddy looked over to Cain who just shook his head and raised his eyebrows.

“That doesn’t include you anymore, does it?” Robert asked him and shook his head. “Go, be there for Aaron, instead of wasting your precious time on a cheating excuse for a man like me.”

Robert grabbed his phone and left the pub.


End file.
